Kentucky Museum - Past Exhibits
October 18 - November 14, 2024
This exhibition invites members of Artworks, Inc. to submit 2D and 3D works for a juried showcase. Artworks is a visual arts coalition dedicated to creating a sustainable arts community in Bowling Green.
Oct. 2 - Nov. 4, 2024
In partnership with the Kentucky Folklife Program and the Department of Society, Culture, Crime, and Justice Studies, we are proud to present the 2024 Día de los Muertos Community Ofrenda. During museum hours (Wednesday through Saturday, 9:00 am to 4:00 pm CST) community members will be able to visit our interactive community ofrenda on display.
An ofrenda (otherwise known as an altar or an offering) is a traditional space in which communities celebrating Día de los Muertos can add photos, art, and items of remembrance for loved ones that have passed on. Last year’s Ofrenda was such a brilliant success, and we are thrilled to continue the tradition this year.
2019 - 2024
While visiting the Museum, be sure and take a selfie with LEGO Big Red, located next to our lobby and Little Lending Library.
April 6 - June 22, 2024
For twenty years, we have partnered with Arts for All Kentucky to host spring workshops and an exhibition of artwork collaboratively produced by young artists with disabilities and area artists. Learn more about Side by Side here.
March 2 - April 12, 2024
The Kentucky Museum presents their annual juried art exhibit, which is truly a celebration of this region’s art. Generously sponsored by Abound Credit Union, any Kentucky resident over the age of 18 and living within 65 miles of Bowling Green was eligible to enter a piece of their original artwork created within the last two years. Monetary awards are given in ten categories as well as for Best of Show, the Purchase Award, the World's Greatest Studio Tour Merit Award, and the Artworks Merit Award.
February 21 - March 16, 2024
We are thrilled to serve as host venue for the Kentucky Art Education Association's Elementary & Middle School All-State Art Show 2024. Students across Kentucky submit their works to the show. At the end, a Closing Reception honors their works. The show is a wonderful introduction to art as a profession and encourages artistic talent across the Commonwealth while advocating for and increasing the quality of visual arts education.
July 26, 2023 - March 23, 2024
Official staff photographer for WKU and all satellite campuses, Clinton Lewis has spent fifteen years as a hidden gem of our campus and community. This exhibition highlights Clinton's work in editorial photojournalism, advertising and commercial photography, outdoor adventure, fine art landscape photography, and graphic design.
January 17 - February 15, 2024
The portion of Americans who make their living by farming has dropped dramatically over the last century, which means that most of us are far removed from farm life - and know little about the challenges that farmers face or the pride and joy that comes with farming. The Farmers Cultural Awareness Project shares experiences of farmers in the 10-country Barren River Area Development District, in their own words, from oral histories recorded in 2021-22.
Created in partnership with the Raising Hope Initiative, the WKU Department of Folk Studies & Anthropology, the WKU School of Nursing & Allied Health, and the Area Health Education Center of South Central Kentucky. For more information about the project, click here.
February 2020 - December 9, 2023
Gazing Deeply showcases how WKU’s backyard—the unique landscape of Mammoth Cave—is being studied, interpreted, and inspiring action on environmental change. Coinciding with the UNESCO Conservation of Fragile Karst Resources: A Workshop on Sustainability and Community and Earth Day’s 50th anniversary in 2020, this exhibition is a collaborative effort between arts and science faculty and students that highlights one of the most well-known and vital natural landscapes in the world.
August 30 - December 9, 2023
In 2008, the Kentucky Museum and Department of Library Collections and Discovery invited our community to share their family photographs for documentation in our archives. As a primary source, photographs provide direct evidence of events and time periods used by researchers to learn about what was important to people who lived at the time and to discover what their lives were like. Submitted photographs documented life in Bowling Green from the 1890s to 1980s, and provide a look at nearly 100 years in "Our Town." What do you see when you look at these photographs?
September 2023
2021 - 2023
through July 29, 2023
April 6 - June 30, 2023
March 4 - April 14, 2023
View the virtual exhibit here.
(Photo by Cheryl Kirby Stokes)
Learn about the Traveling Exhibit available from the Kentucky Folklife Program.
Some of the links on this page may require additional software to view.